Question 5 Not Getting As Much Attention

Maryland voters are seeing numerous ads about high-profile ballot questions such as same-sex marriage and gambling, but they are not hearing much about whether to approve or reject the state's congressional redistricting map. Ask voters about Question 5, and it's not uncommon to see their faces go blank. In an unusually busy year for ballot questions in Maryland, Question 5 will give voters a rare chance to weigh in on how their congressional districts were drawn for the next 10 years. However, voters are focusing on other questions that have been far more widely advertised. The Maryland General Assembly approved the new map in a special session last year based on the results of the 2010 census. It happens every 10 years in Maryland and in other states. Complaints about members of the majority party drawing districts to their benefit are not uncommon throughout the country. One of those democrats to support the new map is Delegate Kevin Kelly. The sixth district is perhaps the most drastically altered by the new map, with many feeling it no longer is representative of the citizens of western Maryland. Kelly maintains that the district has always been diverse…